Junior research scientist in eco-design of food packaging

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will join the IATE joint research unit (Engineering of Agropolymers and Emerging Technologies) and contribute to improving knowledge on plant products to increase their performance in terms of both food and non-food use by developing intentionally integrative, cross-disciplinary approaches.
You will carry out your activity within the ePOP team comprising 8 permanent staff, 2 research directors and 1 INRAE research ??engineer and 5 research professors, with complementary skills in food science, biochemistry and microbiology, process engineering and applied maths, materials science, and organic chemistry. You will work in close collaboration with other IATE joint research unit teams and other national, European, and international partners.
The activities around the ecodesign of packaging are developed within the framework of multidisciplinary collaborative projects, in particular at European level (coordination of 4 European projects over the past 10 years). You will benefit from this powerful dynamic and will join a network of active collaborators. You will benefit from the material resources available at IATE, as well as local, national, and European platforms.

You will notably contribute to answering the following scientific questions:
1. Understand and predict the links between the structure of thermoplastic polymer-based materials, studied on different scales, and their function during production, use, and post-use cycles to quantify their benefits of use versus their environmental impacts.
2. You will integrate this knowledge about the materials into a global ecodesign strategy for food packaging materials with the related models and decision-making tools that are one of the major historic originalities of the host unit.

Your activities will be part of a targeted effort on the ecodesign of (bio)polymer-based materials intended to replace petrochemical-based plastics used in the food and/or agricultural sector. You will contribute to enhancing the scientific bases of the concept of circularity of these materials. You will develop elements of understanding and prediction of their ability to cope with the demands and constraints of the different stages in their life cycle: production (e.g. thermomechanical processes), use (e.g. food preservation, suitability for food contact), reuse, recycling (material, polymer or monomers), energy recovery (e.g. anaerobic digestion) right through to the ultimate biodegradation and closure of the biogeochemical cycles guaranteeing the long-term stability of our ecosystem.
The work will be conducted on materials made from biopolymers (e.g. microbial biopolyesters, cutin, cellulose) whose formulation and structure can be adapted as required. The physico-chemical conditions: temperature, humidity, gas atmospheres, encountered during the various cycles of use and post-use will be compared with the evolution dynamics of the polymers, native or in mixtures (isotropic and anisotropic compounds), their structure (amorphous, crystalline, interphase), and their functional properties, in particular interactions with their environment and transfer of matter.

A cross-disciplinary analytical framework of the stages of use (food contact) and reuse (washing), as well as mechanical (decontamination), biological (anaerobic digestion), and biogeochemical recycling (degradation in the natural environment) will be developed. 

The new knowledge will be used to feed modelling, decision-making (ontology-guided integration of data and knowledge), and ecodesign tools for materials to replace conventional plastics used in the agricultural and food sectors. Recommendations regarding multi-scale production, formulation, and structuring will enable us to propose materials that meet the targeted objectives of functionality and durability.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent). 
A PhD in polymer chemistry or science and materials engineering, closely linked to environmental engineering and process engineering, is highly recommended. You like discovering the interfaces between different disciplines. Your academic path may be original but with sound training in research.
Good command of and/or a taste for techniques for the detailed characterisation of the structure of polymer materials (e.g. NMR, SAXS/WAXS, IR and Raman spectroscopy). Knowledge of the circular economy, biorefineries, eco-design and/or material life cycles, especially polymers, is highly recommended.
International experience and a taste for interacting with other cultures, particularly scientific, would be desirable. You like teamwork and have a sense of collective intelligence. 
You are sensitive to environmental issues and global health, especially the impacts of plastic pollution. You are highly motivated to invest in this field within a well-established research team.
Candidates should have a good command of English (both written and spoken), in particular for writing scientific papers, and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

Your future role explained in video

 

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Guide for applicants 2026 pdf - 1.41 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR26-TRANSFORM-2
3. I apply GO